


You Could've Just Knocked

by orphan_account



Category: Karlie Kloss - Fandom, Taylor Swift (Musician)
Genre: AU where they're neighbours, Alternate Universe, F/F, Rated T for swearing, at least I think it's categorised as an AU, just some fun stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-25 10:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7528627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All of a sudden, the door swings open and Karlie finds herself staring at the end of a baseball bat, the edge of it barely brushing the tip of her nose. She flinches slightly, taken back by the unexpected surprise. Perplexed, she tears her eyes away from the bat, looks behind it and nearly chokes.</p><p>"What the <i>fuck</i> do you think you're doing?" Taylor demands, her blue eyes flaring brightly.</p><p>"Uh…"</p><p>(Basically, an AU where Karlie has a crush on her neighbour, Taylor.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Could've Just Knocked

**Author's Note:**

> Just something fun.

Karlie absolutely loves Saturdays. After five exhaustingly tedious (and frankly, ridiculously annoying) days at the office, she always has the weekend to put her back into a good mood. Her weekend routine, although usually the same, never fails to put her at ease. In her opinion, there's nothing better than sitting at the café beside her apartment building and sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee without a single worry in the world.

Today is no exception; she's sitting at her favourite spot by the entrance of the café, feeling completely relaxed under the shade of the table's umbrella. With the aromatic smell of coffee rich in the air, the sound of birds chirping happily, the perfect weather, and the chocolate chip muffin on her plate, Karlie is undoubtedly in a good mood.

Flipping over a page of the novel that she's currently engrossed, she takes a measured sip of her latte without adverting her gaze. She lets out a happy sigh, grateful for having time to finish her favourite novel with absolutely nothing to disrupt her concentration.

"Hey, Karlie."

Whipping her head up from her book so quickly that she could've snapped her neck, Karlie instinctively turns to the familiar voice and sure enough, it's Taylor. Her book is quickly forgotten as she beams at Taylor, grinning like a kid who had been promised fifty bags of candy.

"Hey!" Karlie waves at her neighbour, perhaps a little _too_ enthusiastically. She's quite certain that the people around her are starting to assume that she has too much sugar in her coffee.

Smiling broadly, Taylor returns her a small wave. Karlie can't help but watch Taylor as she walks past the café and makes her way to their apartment building. Turning her head towards Karlie, Taylor shoots her one last cheerful smile before entering the apartment building, leaving Karlie sitting on the hard plastic chair with a giant dopey grin on her face.

Setting her novel on top of the table, Karlie is still smiling like a doofus as leans back into her chair. She isn't at all bothered by Taylor's interruption. If anything, she is in an even better mood. After all, it was _Taylor_.

Two months ago, apparently, fate had decided to be extra nice to Karlie. Instead of walking by Mr 'Grumpy' Collins's door to get to hers like she did everyday, she was met with the sight of a young woman toting several large cardboard boxes into the vacant apartment.

It was only then when she found out everything. Apparently, due to his inability to afford rent, Mr Collins had moved out of his apartment and this girl named Taylor had bought it. Karlie wasn't negatively affected by her old neighbour's departure at all. Quite the opposite, actually. Mr Collins had been replaced by the beautiful Taylor Swift and it was arguably one of the best things that has ever happened to Karlie (although she's sure that Mr Collins would beg to differ). It didn't take long for Karlie to introduce herself and she was more than pleased to discover that Taylor's personality was as beautiful as she looked (and that meant a lot because, _god, look at that face_ ).

And as if Karlie's liking for her couldn't be any stronger, it turns out, Taylor was a really good singer. Every now and then, Karlie would be at home, minding her own business, when suddenly, a soft but sweet voice accompanied by a musical instrument would be heard. Normally, Karlie didn't tolerate loud neighbours and would request them to keep it down a notch. But nothing could compare to all the times she heard Taylor singing her heart out, her melodious voice passing through the apartment walls and blessing Karlie's ears.

In other words, she _really_ likes her new neighbour. Although they often exchange words with each other, they aren't exactly close friends. But that doesn't stop Karlie from being extra nice to her. One might even ask if Karlie has a crush on Taylor. Her immediate answer is 'no'.

Sure, Karlie tends to catch herself staring dreamily at Taylor whenever she passes by and her heart tends to palpitate at a quicker pace than usual when Taylor talks to her. She also really likes how sweet Taylor is and finds her passion for music, Law & Order SVU, cooking, and cats extremely endearing. She also thinks that Taylor looks like a magical, angelic princess. She's tall, blonde, always wears red lipstick and has eyes that are- in Karlie's opinion- really blue. Karlie also kind of wants to drown herself in those gorgeous oceans.

But, _nah_ , Karlie totally does not have a crush on her neighbour, Taylor Swift.

She just really wants to hold Taylor's hand and take her out on dates and spend time with her. And Karlie will admit that if she ever gets the chance to kiss Taylor's pretty red lips, she'd totally be down for it.

Platonically, of course.

Because Karlie Kloss is, undoubtedly, not attracted to her.

Alright, that might be a lie.

So, yes, Karlie has a crush on Taylor. Nothing too big, though. It's just a crush that is roughly the size of the Statue of Liberty.

 

* * *

 

Karlie is starting to think that maybe fate likes her.

For starters, not only did she get a pay raise at work today but William, the annoying guy who works at the cubicle next to hers, had called in sick. She had even finished her work tasks in an hour for they had been minimal and quite simple. Pleased by her efficiency, her boss had given her the rest of the day off.

The taxicab she'd hailed didn't even smell bad and neither did the nice cabbie. In fact, both the vehicle and the man had smelled strongly of air freshener. Traffic also had been incredibly smooth, so the ride home was fairly quick.

Swinging her keys around a finger, she decides to take a trip to the mailroom. Humming lightly, Karlie opens up her mailbox and gathers the small stack of envelopes. She can't help but grin as she thumbs through them. Even the electricity bill is being nice to her today. 

Walking to the elevators slowly, she selects a letter to read at random. Just as she's about to tear open the envelope, she feels something soft and furry brushing against her legs.

" _Meow_ ,"

The sudden sound and contact surprises Karlie and she jumps slightly. She quickly looks down at her feet and is surprised to find a small, white cat looking back up at her with big blue eyes.

"Meow." It purrs and rubs itself against Karlie's ankle, its tail tickling her calf.

She recognises this cat, it's Taylor's. She has seen the blonde cuddling and carrying it around frequently enough to know that it's hers. Unless Karlie has been hallucinating about cats for the past few months, she's pretty sure it's Taylor's. 

"Why, hello…" Karlie crouches down and slowly extends her hands, reaching for the cat. The feline doesn't approach Karlie's open hands. Instead, it just stares at the girl and tentatively nudges her pinky with a paw. 

"Are you Olivia?" Karlie thinks she has heard Taylor call this cat by that name. After months of conversation, she knows that Taylor, being the TV addict that she is, has two cats named after TV show characters. Karlie also recalls Taylor mentioning that one of the cats, Meredith, was an unfriendly demon in the form of an adorable cat. This cat seems to be the opposite. 

Upon hearing the name, the cat's ears perk up. It meows once more before approaching Karlie, all of its previous hesitation dissipating. 

Karlie gently lifts Olivia up at eye level. She can't help but coo at how cute Olivia is. "Well, hi, Olivia! I'm Karlie. Where's your mother?" She questions. It was odd to find the cat roaming around the building without Taylor in sight. 

"Meow." Olivia replies helpfully. 

Deciding that the cat had gotten lost, Karlie gets up with Olivia in her arms and enters the elevator. She supposes that Taylor is looking for the cat at the very moment.

Karlie gently strokes it's fur throughout the ride. "We're gonna go find your mother, okay?" Olivia blinks in response.

When the elevator doors open, Karlie hears the sound of a girl speaking frantically at a distance. 

"Hello, sorry to bother you but have you seen-" 

Karlie then hears a gruff and disgruntled, "Screw off!", followed by the loud echo of a door slamming shut. 

Karlie follows the sound into the corridor and finds Taylor standing in front of a door with a scowl on her face. Somehow, even with a twisted grimace, she still manages to look gorgeous.

As she advances towards the blonde, Karlie can hear Taylor grumbling quietly, "Stupid neighbours and their goddamn motherfu-" 

"Taylor?" 

Taylor whips her head around with lightning speed. Her frown immediately morphs into a smile when she sees the taller girl, and her irked mood seems to improve greatly. "Karlie? Hey, have you- Oh my god, Dibbles!" 

 _'Dibbles'?_ Karlie looks down at the fluffy cat in her arms with a slight frown. Karlie likes to think that she's close enough with Taylor know about her pets. She's certain that Taylor only has two cats, and that one of them is named Detective Olivia Benson.  _Taylor didn't get another cat, did she?_  

But the cat in her arms meows when Taylor is in its sight. It then proceeds to stand on its hind legs and peer, like some sort of majestic meerkat. 

Taylor hurriedly strides towards her, exclaiming, "Oh my god, thank you so much for finding her, Karlie!" 

"Dibbles? I thought this was Olivia." Karlie states as she eases the cat into Taylor's arms. 

Taylor rubs a thumb across Olivia's head. "She is. Dibbles is just a nickname I came up with." 

 _Oh my god, she nicknamed her cat Dibbles. Why is she so cute_. 

Taylor looks up at Karlie with a smile, her blue eyes shining gratefully. Karlie fights herself from crumbling underneath her stare. "Thanks so much again. Where did you find her?"

"In the mailroom."

Taylor furrows her brow. "How the hell did Olivia get down there?" She looks at the cat skeptically. "Are you actually a bird?" 

Karlie bites back a laugh and shrugs. "Maybe she can teleport. How did you lose her?"

"I was going to bring her to the vet but the moment she saw the cat carrier, she bolted out the door." Taylor explains. She purses her lips and sighs. "I guess I'll just have to carry her." 

Taylor then looks at Karlie dead in the eye, "Do you have any cats?"

 _Her eyes are really blue. Why are they so blue?_ Karlie shakes her head. She has always liked cats but never had the desire to own one. 

"Aw, that's a shame. Imagine how cute the cat play dates would be." Taylor jokes, grinning. 

"I'd rather imagine us going on a date." Karlie blurts out. She restrains from kicking herself in the shin.  _Shit. Have some self-control, damn it_. 

Taylor's cheeks are a light pink but she doesn't offer any verbal response. Instead, she studies Karlie with an unfamiliar look in her eyes, one that Karlie is unable to read. She then leans forward and swiftly presses a gentle kiss against her cheek.

Karlie's brain short-circuits. She now knows what heaven is. 

Glancing at her phone screen, Taylor says, "Well, thanks to Olivia, I'm kind of late for the appointment, so I have to go right now." She gives Karlie a parting wave and a smile. "Thanks again. I'll see you around, Karlie."

Karlie bids her goodbye and returns the wave, which is miraculous because her brain is still a little fuzzy. She walks back to her apartment, grinning widely. It's the grin that only appears whenever Taylor is around. Karlie can still feel the ghost of Taylor's kiss on her cheek, the spot where her lips had touched still tingling pleasantly. 

Karlie has always been a dog person, but if being in the presence of a cat meant that Taylor would kiss her cheek…

Karlie is adopting 43 cats.

 

* * *

 

It has _not_ been a good day for Karlie.

Apparently, fate had decided to be a jerk to her today. Her alarm clock had spontaneously died in the middle of the night, which meant that it hadn't rung on time, causing Karlie to wake up much later than usual (and considering that she liked to press the snooze button three times before waking up every morning, this was _definitely_ bad). Not having enough time for breakfast or a cup of coffee, she had scurried out of the house without even showering. And _just her luck_ , subway traffic had been utter shit and she was fifteen minutes late for work.

After receiving an earful from her aggravated boss, she had to sit in her creaky chair and spend all day typing away at the computer until her fingers cramped up. And just because fate disliked her _that_ much, she had to go through all of that while having to endure William, who was throwing paper clips at her.

Needless to say, she is more than relieved when she's finally allowed to get back home. As she pushes past the crowds of people to get to the subway station, she becomes aware of the dark clouds looming overhead. She quickly gets onto the train, determined to return home before it begins to pour.

By the time Karlie gets off the crowded subway, large droplets of rain have already begun to fall from the dark grey clouds in the sky. She digs around her purse for the compact umbrella that she always keeps with her, only to find it absent.

Cursing words so crude that she could've made a sailor blush, Karlie has no other choice but to make a run for it.

Her journey under the rain can only be described with four words: cold, wet, and _fucking horrible_.

When she has finally arrived at her apartment building, she quickly scurries inside and ignores the dirty looks thrown at her for treading rainwater inside the lobby.

Because it's her lucky day, one of the elevators are out of order- again. Karlie sighs and impatiently taps her foot against the tiled floor as she waits for one of the remaining two elevators to descend to the ground floor.

Karlie, whose clothes are completely drenched thanks to the raging storm outside, shivers and wraps her coat tightly around herself. It does little to keep her warm for it is as equally soaked as the rest of her attire. If anything, she thinks it just makes her feel colder.

Five minutes later and the elevators still have yet reach any floor with a single digit.

Karlie is getting more and more exasperated (and not to mention, colder) by the second. She shifts from foot to foot, weighing her options. On one hand, she is absolutely irritable and exhausted and has no desire to waste her remaining energy on twenty-six flights of stairs. But on the other, she desperately wants to rush back home and take a hot bath.

She really, _really_ doesn't want to climb her way to the 13th floor but she also has no desire to get hypothermia.

Holding back a frustrated scream, Karlie reluctantly begins to ascend the stairs, her rain-soaked shoes stomping heavily against the concrete. She mentally chides herself for living on the building's third highest floor throughout the tiresome journey.

Once she finally reaches the 13th floor, she is grouchier and wearier than ever. One would think that the strenuous activity of climbing up flights of stairs would energise her or at least warm her up a bit, but of course, it did neither. She absentmindedly makes her way down down the hallway, walking past the other identical green painted doors until she gets to her's. Karlie is certain that her frigid feet are numb at this point.

Reaching her front door, she pulls out her keyring from her pocket and the chain abruptly snaps in half, sending her keys to the ground. Karlie closes her eyes and groans. _There is no way this day can get any worse_. After retrieving her key from the floor, she slips it into the keyhole and quickly turns it to unlock the door.

Except it doesn't turn.

Karlie furrows her brow, bemused. She turns it again firmly but the key remains immovable. Convinced that perhaps it needs to be positioned in a better angle, she wiggles it around a bit before turning once more. But still, the door remains locked. Muttering a series of profanities under her breath, Karlie gives her key another sharp jerk to the right. Instead of unlocking the door like it should've, the head of her key ends up bending.

"What the..." She lets out an annoyed huff and tries to turn her bent key again only to be faced with failure once more. Karlie grabs the door knob and twists it forcefully multiple times but it also refuses to turn.

"Why won't you open?!" Karlie lunges forward and slams her shoulder against the door in a desperate attempt to bust it open. The door barely moves. She undeniably had underestimated her own strength and the sturdiness of the door because, _holy crap, that hurt_. Wincing from the impact, she is also 97.8% sure that she might've pulled a muscle. Her lack of success leaves her with no other choice but Plan C. Backing up slightly, Karlie steadies herself and raises a foot, prepared to kick the door down.

All of a sudden, the door swings open and Karlie finds herself staring at the end of a baseball bat, the edge of it barely brushing the tip of her nose. She flinches slightly, taken back by the unexpected surprise. Perplexed, she tears her eyes away from the bat, looks behind it and nearly chokes.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" Taylor demands, her blue eyes flaring brightly.

"Uh…" Karlie blinks. She blinks several times more and then realises that the baseball bat is exactly half an inch away from her nose. She moves her gaze back onto Taylor and despite the current situation, she can't help but feel her chest flutter.

There is just something so mesmerising about Taylor- even when she's three seconds away from smashing Karlie's face in. Her lips are bare from its usual red coat (not that Karlie is looking, _pshh_ ), her short blonde hair is tied up in a tiny ponytail and her eyes are blazing hotly in a way that absolutely melts Karlie's heart.

Taylor's stunning appearance doesn't exactly help Karlie, though. "I… uh…" Karlie is petrified, frozen on the spot, stiff as a statue. She can't move a single muscle, not even to get away from the end of Taylor's baseball bat; Taylor's icy glare was too damn unnerving.

Slowly but surely, recognition flickers in Taylor's eyes. "Wait, aren't you Karlie? Karlie Kloss? My neighbour?" She asks, confusion evident on her face.

If this had been a different situation, Karlie would've immediately felt disappointed that her crush- sorry, neighbour- didn't recognise her. But Karlie's run in the rain had smudged her make up ( _Go figure, it rains when I don't use waterproof mascara_ ), caused strands of hair from her bun to stick to her face like facial hair, and well, drenched her from head to toe.

In other words, it had left her looking like a complete mess and practically unrecognisable. Or rather, like a gothic zombie with a poor excuse of a handlebar moustache who was standing in a puddle of rainwater.

"Y-Yeah." The taller girl stammers. The baseball bat is still in her face and it _definitely_ is still terrifying.

Sensing her uneasiness, Taylor slowly lowers the bat. Eyebrow raised, she asks, "Not that I don't like seeing you, Karlie, but why the hell were you trying to break into my apartment?" Her tone is softer, less hostile.

 _Did she just say that she likes seeing me? Oh my god- wait, **her** apartment?_ "Uh…" Karlie quickly turns her head to the doorplate on the wall beside the door. _Unit 1302_.

Then, realisation hits Karlie hard all at once, Taylor might as well had swung her bat against Karlie's skull: she had been too caught up with her thoughts and had mistaken Taylor's front door for her own. Instead of entering her apartment, number 1303, she'd practically tried to break down Taylor's door.

Or more importantly, she had made a fool of herself in front of her crush in the absolutely worst way possible and will probably never ever redeem herself.

Horrified by her own imbecile actions, Karlie begins stammering, "Shit, goddamn- I'm so sorry, Taylor- I didn't-"

"If you wanted to visit, you could've just knocked, you know." Taylor says drily. A small smile is playing on her lips, like she's finding Karlie's stuttering amusing.

If possible, her words just embarrass Karlie even more. "No, oh my god, Taylor, it was an accident! I didn't mean to- I mistook your apartment door for my own. I swear that I- I'm such an idiot- I'm so sorry." She smacks her own forehead with the palm of her hand and groans. She apologises again, "I'm so, so, so sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll do anything; I'll wash your car, do your laundry, feed your cats, water your plants-"

Taylor laughs softly, interrupting Karlie's rant. She notices that Taylor's icy glare has soften tremendously and has been replaced by a bright sparkle. "It's okay, Karlie."

Karlie thinks that her excessive blushing has somehow managed to damage her hearing. "Huh?"

Taylor smiles. "It's alright. It was an accident, you didn't mean to do it. It's fine." She says.

Karlie is utterly baffled. "I, uh…You… You're not mad?" She asks, tentative. Maybe she is hallucinating.

Taylor shrugs, her smile widening. "I mean, I'm definitely surprised- and a little amused- but no, I'm not really mad at you. I guess that if it was anyone else, I'd whack them with my baseball bat but it's you, and I know that you'd never intend to do this on purpose. Besides, accidents happen."

Taylor's words seem to lift the invisible weight off Karlie's shoulders. But although Karlie is partially relieved, she still is mortified and feels horrible.

"I'm still so incredibly sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Still smiling, Taylor shakes her head and says, "You can make it up to me by going home and changing your clothes. As cute as you would sound while sick, I really don't want you to get ill."

"But-"

"It's perfectly okay, Karlie. Just go back and change out of your wet clothes. My door is nothing compared to your health." Yanking the key out of her door with a little difficulty, Taylor reaches over and takes Karlie's hand before leading her towards her apartment. Taylor's hand is warm and soft and Karlie can feel thousands of rainbow-coloured butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

The shorter girl unlocks Karlie's door and hands her back her key. "Take a hot bath, change your clothes, and go to bed early. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Taylor wraps her arms around Karlie in a brief but warm hug and then proceeds to give her a swift kiss on the cheek.

All Karlie can do is nod. Taylor seems to have taken away her ability to speak.

Flashing her a little smile, one that makes Karlie feel warm and fuzzy inside, Taylor waves goodbye and returns to her own apartment.

The sound of the door clicking shut snaps Karlie out of her daze. She still feels like an idiot. She had tried to break down Taylor's door, for god's sake. Although Taylor has insisted that she was fine with the situation, Karlie can't just do nothing about it.

Grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil from her purse, she quickly scribbles, " _I'm still so so so sorry. Please let me make it up to you_." She then folds the paper in half, walks towards Taylor's front door and slips it through the gap underneath the door.

Once the paper has dissapeared to the other side of the door, Karlie hurriedly enters her own apartment and gets ready for bed, determined to forget about her antics.

She's been embarrassed enough for a lifetime.

 

* * *

 

When Karlie wakes up in the morning, she wants nothing more than to go back to sleep. She is still mortified from her foolishness yesterday and for the first time in her life, she really doesn't want to see Taylor. Hell, she doesn't want to be in the same country anymore. She wants to move to a new continent with a new identity and live there for the rest of her life.

Pressing her face into a pillow, she shuts her eyes and wills herself to fall back into sleep's arms. She wants to stay asleep, preferably until that shred of memory disappears from her brain forever, and escape reality's humiliation. But as expected, her body doesn't succumb and she has no other choice but to get up.

Getting off her bed, she slowly makes her way to the kitchen. As she passes by the foyer, she spots a piece of paper laying on the floor in front of her door.

She picks it up, unfolds it and examines the words that have been scrawled across the paper. She is more than astonished to discover that it's a note from Taylor.

" _Despite the fact that you essentially tried to break my door down, it's really okay, Karlie. But since you're so insistent, going out for a cup of coffee together sometime would be a decent way to apologise._

_PS: You're cute when you're embarrassed. Also, knock next time. :)_

_-Taylor_ "

Karlie soon finds herself staring at the paper in awe, a ridiculous grin plastered across her face.

Perhaps fate does like her after all.

**Author's Note:**

> (And years later, it becomes Taylor's favourite story to tell their kids before bedtime. As much as it still embarrasses her, Karlie doesn't really mind; she has accepted that she will never be able to avoid her wife's teasing.)
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Feedback and constructive criticism is appreciated!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr: pieceofkaylortrash.tumblr.com


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